A Brazen Curiosity (Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries #1)

This young (well, by Regency standards she is on the shelf and no longer a marriage prospect) woman is both charming and a bit of a busybody. All female sleuths of the early 18th century would be viewed this way — since it is so indelicate to investigate murder. Beatrice is not penniless, which I liked — she lives on the goodwill of close family members and has a decent wardrobe. I liked also her self-confidence and perseverance. What I did not like was her intense dislike of Duke Kesgrave (who gladly serves as a co-investigator) simply because he\’s a withdrawn and discreet member of the aristocracy. She mused WAY too often about how pleasurable it would be to throw food items at him. This got old. Even given her comparatively humble position in life, I thought it would be more believable had she warmed up to him a little more. Will gladly go on to the next book.

What a charming start to a series. This is my first Lynn Messina and I\’m so glad I found her. This is a light quick read. Whilst one does have to suspend belief because the conclusions the h leaps to from fragments of evidence to identify the murderer are quite ridiculous, nevertheless this doesn\’t take away from the charm of the story. It is driven by the unlikely friendship between the plain spinster and the sober minded, arrogant duke. The solving of a murder is really just the device to put them together. It is their repartee and the evolution of their relationship which makes this story so delightful. And Bea is a wonderful heroine. The cast of secondary characters is also entertaining. Overall the writing is good marred only by a few out of era words and, as is so often the case these days, this author doesn\’t know the difference between affect and effect. Still I can\’t wait to read more.

It didn\’t take long for this book to grab hold of me. The mild mystery was entertaining but the eccentric cast of characters made me laugh and keep reading. The heroine was described as \”button nose, beady eyes, and thin lips\” by her own uncle, no less. Much was made of her \”wan\” appearance which seemed to make people think her ill at times. At age 26, quiet and retiring, no one paid much attention to the poor relation taken in by her father\’s brother. But, for some reason, her reaction to a Duke\’s pomposity at a house party changes her attitude and befuddles her relatives. Then, stumbling onto a corpse in the middle of the night sends her sleuthing to unmask a murderer. The mystery wasn\’t all that compelling…merely a way to throw the spinster and the Duke together, but it caused several LOL moments. The characters were great. I loved the odd Beatrice and her even odder quirks. The straight-laced Duke and his snarky humor were a plus. Bea\’s Aunt Vera reminded me of Gracie Allen and some of her one-liners had me in stitches. I loved every bit of this book and have already purchased the next in the series. No language or sexual situations to offend any readers

This book captured my attention from the first sentence. I simply adored Beatrice, the duke, and all the characters, really. It was just a pleasure to read. Ms. Messina did an outstanding job of keeping my interest equally engaged by the mystery as by the developing relationship between Beatrice and Kesgrave. I appreciated very much her wit and sense of humor as reflected by her intelligent and imaginative characters in both thought and dialogue.

I had a hard time getting into the story. For the first third to half of the Book, I was indifferent, and could have easily stopped reading. Im glad I didnt. During the second half of the book, I found myself caring about the characters and really enjoying the book. I became attached to the characters and wanted to continue their stories, so I read books two and three of the series. They didnt disappoint, and Id love to read more.

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